Human Rights and Sexual Desires: Incest, Pedophilia, Rape

Abstract

Every day Nicaraguan newspapers report cases of young girls being assaulted by their fathers. These are men who sexually utilize their daughters. Headlines inform the public of outrageous deeds in dreadful language such as “Man that Raped his Daughter for 3650 Days Goes Before Judge” (El Nuevo Diario [END], 01/21/2008); “She is Only Ten-Years-Old and Seven Months Pregnant” (END, 01/24/2008); “[Man] Rapes Three Minor Daughters” (END, 01/27/2008). These and other stories of adult cases of rape can be read as corollaries to those of incest, pedophilia, and rape. Although incest, pedophilia, and rape are technically and theoretically separated from each other, the cleavage does little to explain their convergence in the cases reported earlier. Thus, I am treating them under the all-encompassing rubric of male sexual abuse against women.